Our View: Church and theater group will make good partners

Thursday

Jun 12, 2014 at 12:01 AM

New Bedford's First Baptist Church, across from City Hall on Williams Street, and Your Theatre, a longtime community playhouse, have struck up a partnership that offers a longer life to the historic church and a downtown home for the theater group.

New Bedford's First Baptist Church, across from City Hall on Williams Street, and Your Theatre, a longtime community playhouse, have struck up a partnership that offers a longer life to the historic church and a downtown home for the theater group.

The reuse of sacred space is a model in the 21st century, as church attendance struggles. The ability of a small congregation to maintain a nearly 200-year-old large wooden structure is limited, and while it may be difficult to attract people for church services, the space is attractive in an environment of growing cultural and historical awareness, such as New Bedford experiences today.

The inspiration for "Roberts' Rules of Order," the home church of abolitionists and presence on the city seal make First Baptist Church an unquestionable historic structure.

An injection of vitality by Your Theatre and a promise from the Waterfront Historic Area League to help with a feasibility study for repairs and preservation and with seeking funding to make the repairs bode well for all parties.